Saudi 2020 budget deficit could reach 9%/GDP amid coronavirus, oil price drop

Saudi Arabia's budget deficit this year could expand to up to 9% of gross domestic product, from around 6.4% previously forecast, due to plummeting oil prices and the impact from the coronavirus outbreak, the kingdom's finance minister said on Friday.

Mohammed al-Jadaan said in a news conference broadcast on state television that the government has a contingency plan and flexibility through a mixture of spending cuts, borrowing and tapping reserves.